I've heard a number of things. She's grooming you, she's showing affection, a combination of the two, or, for the more cynical person, she likes the taste of your skin.

Cats in the same social group usually groom each other. Maizie is a licker. if she's in my arms, she's licking my cheeks and nose before she falls asleep. benjamin, the dominant cat in our home, has never been a licker. Not of skin, anyway. He'll lick the underarms of my shirts (I know, I know), but not the skin.

of course, if you put them together, Ben will lick Maizie, but May never licks him! I think it's his 'job' as the dominant to lick her, but that's another topic!

My Kizmet suckled on my earlobes from the moment I got him until he passed away at 10 years old. it's only inappropriate if you are uncomfortable with it. I never minded, although at times I got annoyed at 3am. LOL. It comforted him and made him happy. It was his thing.

Now, if it's happening a lot, or if it's interfering with meal times, then it could be an issue. But lots of cats suckle on one thing or another. (Believe it or not, Kizmet, when rooting around for a good place to suckle, found my nipple. I loved that cat more than my next breath, but that felt a little too weird! haha)

Benjamin, who came to me at 7 weeks, spent his first days meowing like crazy, rooting around for a place to suck. It broke my heart to see him so distressed. He found my armpit one night, and calmed right down. He's 3 now, and he still does it pretty much every day.

So Ben has a favorite toy, his 'Wormie'. Sometimes he plays with him, but as he's gotten a little older (he's 3 and a half now), not so much. He will mainly pick up Wormie in his mouth, hold him there, and start meowing in a low voice. Nothing else. Usually in the middle of the night, but sometimes I'll hear him in the kitchen doing it while I'm watching TV.

Is this another version of prey behavior? Like he's caught him and he's announcing it? He never really brings it anywhere, just drops it after a minute or so. And he doesn't do this behavior with any other toy. Just Wormie.

try positive reinforcement. it's the only thing that worked with Ben. when he would bite, I would say 'No bite!', immediately withdraw my hand, get up, and ignore him completely. eventually, he began to stop when I would say 'no bite!', and I would immediately praise him. sometimes the stopping was coincidental, but no matter. eventually he got the message. you have to be consistent, every single time.

obviously, getting out of bed isn't an ideal solution, but you get the idea.